There is known a scheme called “demand response” for a consumer to reduce usage of electric power depending on settings of electricity charges or payment of incentives when an electric power price surges or reliability of an electric power grid reduces. The demand response in the former case, which depends on the settings of electricity charges, is a scheme to prompt the consumer to reduce the usage of electric power voluntarily by setting peak charges at the time of shortage of electric power supply higher than ordinary charges. On the other hand, the demand response in the latter case, which depends on the payment of incentives, is a scheme to make a contract in advance between an electric power provider or an energy manager and the consumer in which the consumer receives a consideration payment in exchange for accepting a demand adjustment at the time of shortage of electric power supply.
In the latter scheme, the consumer, who makes demand adjustment of the power at the time of the shortage of electric power supply, needs to grasp in advance the amount of electric power currently used in equipment and the amount of electric power that can be reduced to ensure the necessary electric power reduction amount. For example, in an office building, the electric power used for air-conditioning and lighting accounts for a large proportion of the electric power consumption of the entire building.
For example, regarding air-conditioning equipment targeted for electric power reduction, there is known a method including predicting electric power consumption characteristics of an air-conditioning apparatus and heat capacity characteristics of a building, thereby controlling the air-conditioning apparatus to maintain the room temperature as comfortable as possible while satisfying the request of demand response to reduce the electric power (for example, Patent Literature 1).
Further, regarding various types of equipment in a plurality of managed areas targeted for electric power reduction, there is known a method including setting priorities among a population density in a floor, capability of equipment to reduce its electric power, a difference in attributes between residents in the floor (for example, VIP or guest), and other factors, to determine how much electric power is to be reduced for which equipment in which managed area, to thereby determine the equipment whose electric power is to be reduced (hereinafter referred to as “electric power reduction target equipment”) and the amount of reduction thereof, based on the priorities, and distributing electric power to respective pieces of equipment (for example, Patent Literature 2).